I decided to start drinking tea as an alternative to going to diet soda or other when I want something other than water. My first experiments are going pretty well in that I seem to enjoy the stuff. I've just been grabbing what's around me to start, green tea at work and some different basic teas from the Keurig at home. I know there's a lot out there and I'd like to broaden my horizons, especially in terms of getting the best health benefits.

About six months ago, my wife came back from Europe with a tea called Alexandra David-Neel from Mariage Freres. My first loose leaf tea. We had to buy one of those tea balls. It was absolutely amazing. A black tea with orange and spice. I was hooked.

We were in a mall with a Teavana shortly after that. I wanted to get a pot for more than one cup at a time. Maybe, like, a cheap brewing device. We wound up with a hobnailed deal and trivet. This store had the single best salesman I've ever run into in any store anywhere. It didn't help that I was really tired. We decided to get a couple of teas. It wasn't until he was ringing it up that I realized the difference between coffee and tea. Coffee is sold by the pound. Tea is by the ounce. We walked out of there spending more than 300 bucks.